Latest Pics

Impressions ;)

Baby Stewie: "Victory is miine! MUhahaha!"

Ace Ventura: "REE-hee-hee-eeeally!"

Gene Simmons: "Nyyyaaahh!"

Rough-housing with Dad

"Pinch an inch!!"

"Funny Daddy!"

Corey's "I'm about to pinch you" face

2 Grinz! <3>

Balloon Love!

While we were out sock shopping, Corey spotted this mylar Happy Birthday balloon -- it was toddler love at first sight! Even tho it's not his birthday, I had to get it for him. He hugged it, took it for walks, and danced with it all day! It was so romantic...

Me an' you, and you an' me...

No matter how we tossed the dice, it had to be...

So happy togetherrrrr!

Windy Day! Too cute for captions!

Day in the Sun / The Year in Pictures

Today was sunny and beautiful. There is a tree growing beside our house that's covered in fluffy white flowers... their aroma fills the air as soon as you step outside. Our neighbor, Bill, says soon the petals will start falling like snow.

This afternoon, Corey and I went out back and tromped through the tall grass searching for dandelions. He calls them "fluffs" and spent about an hour saying, "I want more fluff." I think we found every "fluff" in the backyard and he blew the seeds off each one. We buried our faces in a copse of sun-warmed snowdrop flowers. Corey discovered the purple honeysuckles growing along the fence. Like a true gentleman, he picked one for himself and one for me. We both smelled our honeysuckles; I held onto mine and he dissected his.

Then we went out front and played "throw" with his red ball. I call it "throw" because Corey hasn't quite mastered catching yet. He can catch a large ball in both arms if he's standing right in front of the person throwing... but with the small ball, we just practiced throwing as far as we could.

As Corey ran into the driveway to get the ball, he looked up and exclaimed "Bird fly!" I looked and saw a hawk circling slowly and gracefully above us. I told him, "That's a REALLY big bird!" and he echoed me: "Big bird." Just then a flock of seagulls passed right over us, their white wings flapping in unison. We stood together and watched them quietly.

___________________________________

So, it's been a long time since the last post here. Corey is almost three! Our family has been through so many changes in the past year, it's been hard to keep up. Also, Corey became obsessed with the camera, so I couldn't take many pictures of him :( Every time I bring it out, he drops whatever he's doing, runs over to me, and yells "I WANT a Creamra!"

Moving to Our New Home
Guy (best friend, landlord, racecar driver, and all-around awesome dude) bought an adorable white-with-blue-trim house on the rural outskirts of Santa Rosa. The granny unit turned out to be perfect for Adam, Corey and me. The best part: the house sits on about 2 1/2 acres of land, with a little forest of rose bushes and open stretches of wild grass. It's perfect for a little boy to run and play!

Rosy Backyard

Our first night in the granny unit, we worried that Corey would feel frightened sleeping alone. So we plopped our mattress in his room and tried snuggling up next to him. Big mistake! He was so excited about the new place, and about Mom and Dad being close, he bounced around the room until early morning.

Yay, I has a big mattress!

Hmm, how does this thing work?

Too excited to sleep, let's play ball!

With more space, Corey discovers new ways to play!

Now Dad's in the basket! :D

New Home, New Discoveries!

Moving into our new little home was a first time for a lot of things:

• Mom, Dad and Corey living together
• Corey having his own room
• Lots of space indoors for creative play
• Lots of space outdoors to run around

It was a time of new discoveries for Corey, and he had a great time!

Block Art

Untitled collaborative work with Mom.

We spent a long time getting this contraption
to stand up! Corey practiced sharing, fitting
blocks together, and saying the word "TALL."

I took a shot with Corey to show how tall our
structure really was. Unfortunately the perspective
is distorted :P I asked Corey to make a "funny
face" for the pic -- so cute!

Corey finds the "trucks" in his new block set.
Here he's figuring out that he can link
them together. He still loves to do this!

Yum??

What's Corey doing in this pic? Breakdancing?
Eating cracker crumbs off the floor? Nope, he's
throwing a fit because he can't have the camera. :(

2nd Birthday!

Then and Now

Corey at his 1st birthday party

Corey today!

Corey's accomplishments this year:

• Learned to walk, run, dance, and climb
• Learned to say about 30 words and understand about 150
• Lost all his baby fat and became a lean mean muscle machine!
• Figured out all kinds of gadgets, including pens, zippers, buckles, the cellphone, the stereo system, and all his interactive toys
  
• Became a park-loving kid, overcoming his fears of grass, sand, and swings
• Showed us how to be joyful and loving every day, reminded us to play, laugh, smell the flowers, be curious and excited about the small things in life, and ENJOY THE MOMENT :)
  

Corey's actual 2nd birthday was on June 12th, but we celebrated with family on Saturday. I had chosen stars as a simple theme for the party, because Corey is fascinated with them and knows the word: "STAH!" Almost as an afterthought, we picked out red, yellow, green and blue balloons to decorate. Corey decided the REAL theme of the party was BALLOOOONS!

Birthday Morning
Corey gets in a party mood with his big mylar balloon, his new digital camera, and of course... The Safety Dance.

A Family Affair
Corey's friends -- including Cindy and Co., Monica, Skyler, Leah, and Maya -- weren't able to make it. Mostly because this is my first time hosting a kid's party, and my planning was less than stellar -- oops! But the family showed up, and Corey was happy to see all of them!

GG Ruth helps Corey open his card

Adorable card, AND there was a $20 bill inside it!
Don't worry Great Grandma, we won't let him spend it all on candy.

Next, hugs and bounces from Uncle David, who is
wondering when we'll buy Corey his first Harley.
Maybe in a couple years... (Uncle David's gift: a $50 Toys R Us
gift card. Thank you!)

Kisses for Gramma Kim!

Gramma Kim's gift, cleverly wrapped in comics from the
newspaper, with accordion-folded $1 bills in the bow. So cute!

Dad helps unwrap Gramma's present: a set of
colorful cardboard picture books PERFECT for Corey.

Grins & giggles with Mom

Balloon Time!

Corey had to play with EVERY balloon to make sure they were
all fun (they were). Most used word of the day: "BWOOON!"

The "bwoons" attract the attention of another park-goer,
an adorable little girl named Emma. Look at Corey's sly smile.
I'm not sure if it means, "I'm the coolest because I have the most
balloons," or "Can I get your number?" ;)

Emma holds her balloon in her arms carefully, while
Corey wrestles his to the ground.

Emma loses her balloon and runs after it, and
Corey rushes to help her. Such a gentleman!

Silly times with Gramma Kim

Even Uncle Ty joins in!

Evil Cake
We bought Corey's cake from the sophisticated local bake shoppe known as Safeway. It tasted great to me, but Corey's reaction to it was totally unexpected! He tasted a bit off Gramma Kim's finger and discovered it was STICKY! The horror! He turned to the party en masse and cried out "EWWWWW!" Furiously trying to wipe his hands off, he dissolved into tears. Poor little dude. I must admit, it was both sad and funny!

The Culprit

The first taste

The reaction: Blleeehhh! Gross, Dad!

The emotional aftermath: afflicted with frosting-face!

A Great Day
In spite of some moodiness on Corey's part, and some new parent jitters on ours, all in all it was a great day.


To Adam: Happy Father's Day!
How appropriate that Father's Day comes right after Corey's birthday! You've survived another year of fatherhood. With our lives in such transition, I didn't have time to buy you a card or a gift that would express the depth of pride and admiration I have for you as a father -- but then again, no card or gift could ever express it adequately. So I'm writing this to you.

About a year ago, you asked me if I thought you were a good father, and I said "Yes!" I said you had the most important quality Corey could want in a Dad: you TRULY LOVE HIM. He is welcome in your heart and in your life. All the rest is secondary.

Today that is still true, and I'm so proud of you when I think about how much you've grown into your parental role. You've found new ways to express your love for Corey -- everything from playing with him, teaching him right from wrong, keeping him safe and healthy, and setting the limits he needs. The results are astounding: he is blossoming into a happy, confident little boy.

A year ago, you were wondering if you could be a good father. Today I'm here to tell you that you CAN do it, and you ARE doing it. Every day. It makes me love you more deeply than I can describe, and it inspires me to do my best as a mother. I thank you, and Corey, when the time comes, will thank you too.

We love you!

--Audrey